Collection Scope and Content Note

The Lord Frederick North Army strength reports (58 volumes) are a series of confidential records from the library of Frederick North, British prime minister during the American Revolution, which contain returns of British forces from 1772 to 1782. These volumes contain records on the number of British troops and officers worldwide, including the number of troops raised in England for service in America.

Each volume includes tallies of forces of the following types and locations:

Cavalry in South Britain

Infantry in South Britain

Regiments & Independent Companies of Invalids

Forces in North Britain

Forces at Jersey

Forces at Guernsey

Forces on the Isle of Man

Forces in Africa

Forces at Gibraltar

Forces at Minorca

Forces in the West Indies

Forces in North America

Militia

Additional Companies Raising for the Infantry Serving Abroad

Abstract (total forces)

In addition to these standard troop counts are the following special troop reports:

1770 May-September: Regiments in Ireland

1773 December-1774 March: Under order from Grenada

1780 September-November: On the passage for the East Indies

1782 March: Embarked for service on the expedition with General Meadows

The volumes contain troop count information by regiment and provide details on the following categories of personnel: